[April 24, 2014]Whether you're launching a new
business or wondering why your existing company isn't performing as
well as predicted, longtime corporate executive Larry Katzen
suggests taking a careful look at your business plan.
Did you include a section describing the workplace culture and the steps you'll
take to foster that culture?
"When you look at why businesses fail, it almost
always has something to do with the culture," says Katzen, author of "And You
Thought Accountants Were Boring — My Life Inside Arthur Andersen." "For nearly
half of the startups that fail, incompetence is cited as the major cause,
according to Statistic Brain. Tolerating — or not tolerating — incompetence is
part of corporate culture."
Katzen, a former managing partner at one of the world's top five accounting
firms, said his experience taught him a great deal about what kind of culture
results in successful businesses. It was sadly ironic, he says, that Arthur
Andersen, which held integrity chief among its values, was wrongly convicted of
fabricated accusations related to the Enron scandal. The Supreme Court
eventually exonerated Arthur Andersen, but the damage was already done.
"Today's business leaders cannot leave culture to chance," Katzen says. "They
must decide what values and beliefs will form the foundation of their company,
and they must ensure those values are integrated every day through example,
communication, policy and incentives."
He lists four cultural values and behaviors your company must have to be
successful:
Integrity — from the top down.
From the executive level to part-time support staff, each individual must
adhere to a code of values and ethics that's based on doing the right thing,
Katzen says. "It's absolutely essential that you and your managers make
decisions based on honesty and fair play. When appropriate, take the time to
explain to employees the reasoning behind big decisions, to reinforce that
they're made in accordance with ethical considerations." Have a consistent,
well-publicized policy for dealing with integrity breaches among employees,
and a zero-tolerance policy for breaches among management. Managers and
executives who don't adhere to company values will sabotage the culture.
A positive perspective at the
executive level.
The business leaders set the tone for the company, and
if executives or managers have negative attitudes, especially in times of
crisis, employees will, too. "You and your employees are not just doing
jobs, you're on a mission to improve people's lives with the product or
service you provide," Katzen says. "The team that embarks on a mission with
no hope of achieving that mission will not achieve it."
Be a leader in the office and in the community.
As a business leader, you should take an active role in working with
organizations that benefit the community. Find ways to encourage employees
to volunteer time as well, even if it's a corporate project to which you
allow each employee to dedicate a certain number of their payroll hours.
"We're all more gratified when we know we're contributing something
meaningful to the greater good," Katzen says. "And remember — healthy
communities grow healthy businesses."
Employees
who exercise regularly, make healthy lifestyle changes and get
regular checkups and vaccinations are doing you a big favor.
They'll be more productive and energetic and you'll have less
absenteeism. Make it easy for employees to schedule time for
doctor visits, especially if you have a 9-to-5 office. Have
health fair days, where employees can get free screenings and
flu shots. Reward trips to the gym, weight loss, smoking
cessation and other healthy choices with drawings for prizes.
And keep in mind, this is already a value among millennials —
the teens to early 30-somethings who will soon make up half the
workforce. "They'll enjoy being a part of that culture," Katzen
says.
Sometimes, Katzen says, CEOs with firmly held values conducive to
an energetic, thriving workplace will naturally and unconsciously
create a great corporate culture. But those who take time to think
about the culture they want, spell out the details, and exemplify
and communicate them have a greater chance of success.
"Make it part of your business plan, because it's as important as
anything else in that plan," Katzen says.
___
After graduating from Drake University in 1967, Larry Katzen
started working at Arthur Andersen and quickly rose through the
ranks to become the Great Plains regional managing partner. An
honorable, hardworking man who devoted his life to Arthur Andersen,
Katzen was there from the company's meteoric rise to its unjust
demise. He stayed with the firm for 35 years, serving clients
globally until 2002. He recounts his experiences in "And You Thought
Accountants Were Boring — My Life Inside Arthur Andersen" (http://www.larryrkatzen.com/
).
